


It's Not Over Until There's A Fistbump

by TheEndOfTheUniverse



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics)
Genre: Barry Allen is a saint, Hurt/Comfort, I hope they're not OOC?, Poor Hal, not explicit shipping but it could be if you really tried, some Hal angst in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 09:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8839153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEndOfTheUniverse/pseuds/TheEndOfTheUniverse
Summary: He was alone in the world. Just because he had started calling himself Parallax and decided to go about saving the universe in a different way. No one believed in him. No one except Barry. Or: A rewrite of notable Parallax events with Barry Allen still alive.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've played with the timelines here quite a bit:
> 
> Destruction of Coast City - Zero Hour - Final Night - Death of Barry Allen - Resurrection of Barry Allen - Green Lantern Rebirth
> 
> Wally isn't mentioned anywhere in this story, but he becomes Flash in between Barry's death and resurrection just like he does in the normal comics, in case anyone was wondering.
> 
> If anyone hasn't read any of these comics, I seriously recommend because they're great.

Barry had been on Earth, out of the country, on a case when Hal had supposedly busted into the Watchtower in completely different clothes and claimed himself as a villain named Parallax. When he returned and Clark told him what had happened, Barry had laughed. Hal, the space cop, his best friend, suddenly turning over to the dark side? Yeah right.

But when Clark didn’t laugh, Barry immediately sobered up.

“Clark…?”

“I’m sorry, Barry. The Hal we all know is gone.”

“You… You’re lying. There’s no way that Hal would ever…”

“Barry…” Clark began gently and the blond immediately bristled at the tone.

“Don’t ‘Barry’ me, Clark! What happened?!” he demanded as he pulled _Superman_ closer to him by his collar.

The man of steel sighed. “I’m not sure, Barry. None of us know why he snapped, not even Bruce. We think that it might’ve been because of Coast City but we’re not sure.”

Gritting his teeth, he roughly released his friend before turning away. He sensed Clark behind him, already moving forward, but Barry moved away and fingered his ring.

“Barry, what are you doing?” Clark asked, his voice hard.

The blond glanced back, his gaze cold. “Getting to the bottom of this.” With a quick press of his ring, he was in his costume and running his way to Coast City.

Superman didn’t follow him.

* * *

 Barry ran as fast as he could to Coast City.

Or at least, what was left of it.

Instead of the tall buildings and bustling Californians that he had grown so used to seeing, he was now greeted with a smoking crater. Suddenly, his knees felt very weak and he crumpled to the ground.

_Oh **God**._

Coast City was gone.

Shakily, he stood again and zipped down to the pit. Not a rock left unturned. Nothing was left to signify that there had ever been any sign of life here. And _god_ , had Hal come back from space to see _this_? A home reduced to rubble? Memories reduced to dirt? Barry couldn’t even imagine what it felt like.

“Hal? Hal, are you here?” he called out, hoping and praying that he was. He needed to see this for himself. He needed to know that Clark was just fooling.

As he ran around, his mind supplied buildings that used to stand in front of him.

The ice cream shop that he and Hal liked to go to.

The bar that he had gone to with Hal and Ollie.

Hal’s apartment.

Oh _god, **Hal’s apartment**_.

He didn’t think he could’ve felt more crushed if he _tried_. Sure, Hal was barely there anyway because of all the work he did in space, but it was still his to come home to at the end of the day and it _wasn’t there anymore_. Hal was essentially homeless.

Barry sunk to his knees.

“Oh my god… _Hal_ …”

 

The familiar crack of a cape echoed behind him. Barry turned, expecting Superman, only to find his best friend, but not the way he remembered him.

A green cape billowed behind him, glowing with green energy. The skin tight Green Lantern uniform had been traded for a similarly coloured armour of sort. Sharp green shoulder pads now jutted out from his friend’s uniform. The mask was still there, but pointed and looking not at _all_ like Hal’s usual domino. Most shockingly, Hal’s hair was white at the temples and he had wrinkles on his face that had no place being there. Barry had noticed that Hal had started to go gray, but now it looked like he had aged 30 years in the span of a week.

All in all, it looked nothing at _all_ like the Hal Jordan he knew.

“Hal? What _happened_ to you?” Barry asked, too shocked for words.

“It’s Parallax, Flash,” Hal responded coldly before floating upwards.

“Wait! Hal, what happened? Clark says you’ve gone over to the other side! Please, tell me what’s wrong! What happened to Coast City? Why do you look like that?” Barry pleaded.

Hal fixed him with a cold stare and Barry felt a shiver run up his spine and his heart drop to his stomach.

_What?_

But before he could steel himself to press further, Hal was gone.

Barry stayed like that, shuddering as he struggled to compose himself. Barry hadn’t felt this way in a long time. Hadn’t felt such overwhelming _fear_ ever since his mother’s death.

He didn’t know what was going on, but he did know one thing. Something was seriously wrong with Hal.

* * *

 When a new Green Lantern named Kyle Rayner showed up a few days later, Barry couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t look at the new kid wearing Hal’s uniform, standing for everything that Hal once stood for.

No.

Still stood for. Hal was _not_ evil.

But the new kid didn’t know what he was doing and looked so out of place and awkward and all Barry could wonder was where they went wrong.

* * *

 Barry didn’t see Hal again for years. He suspected that his best friend was avoiding everyone in the League and he was right. But he wasn’t going to give up on Hal. He would never give up on his best friend, even if everyone else did. He had really thought that everyone had lost all faith in Hal when the League got a surprise visitor.

Every weapon was instantly pointed at… it.

The alien raised a hand. “I come in peace, earthlings. I have come to ask you a favour.”

Everyone but Batman relaxed.

“What is it you want from us?” Superman asked.

“I am Ganthet and I am a Guardian. I come from the planet Oa. Perhaps you have heard of us?”

Instantly, everyone was back on alert.

“Yeah, we’ve heard of you,” Batman growled. “And we want nothing to do with you.”

Kyle quickly intervened. “Guys, Ganthet is on our side. I swear. He wouldn’t be asking us to do anything if it wasn’t for a good cause. Let’s hear him out.”

“Thank you, Lantern Rayner. I would simply like you to talk some sense into Hal Jordan and try to bring him to his senses.”

“What is there to bring?” Batman growled. “Jordan’s gone over to the other side and it’s time we all faced that.” With a swish of his cape, he left the room, unwilling to hear anymore.

Ganthet sighed. “I realise that this may not be a pleasant task and that some of you have already given up on Hal Jordan. But I implore you to try.”

Barry stepped forward. “I’ll go.”

Kyle nodded. “I will too.”

That seemed to spark some hope into the others and they ended up with a team of Superman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, and Green Arrow.

“Hey, Kyle,” Barry whispered as they were being transported to Parallax’s—no, _Hal’s_ —location.

“Yeah?” the kid asked.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

 

They found Hal in New York City, strangely enough. Ganthet had insisted on going with Kyle to speak with Hal first, seeing as how this was a Green Lantern problem. Of course, they had both failed to get Hal to stop.

Barry stepped forward with the rest of the League. If possible, Hal looked even older than the last time he had seen him. Much too old to be explained by a few years.

“Hal? C’mon Hal, let’s talk this out,” Barry tried.

“There’s nothing to talk about, Flash. I will fix everything and if you won’t help me, then so be it. But don’t get in my way!”

“Hal, _please_ —”

“Either get out of the way, Flash, or suffer the consequences. I _will_ fix everything!” Hal threatened as he raised a hand pulsing with green energy.

Just like all those years ago, in the pit that used to Coast City, Barry felt his body seize with fear. He stared uncomprehendingly at Hal. Hal had never been able to do that before, and even if he had absorbed all the energy of the Central Power Battery like Kyle had explained, that shouldn’t have let him instill fear the way he was.

While Barry remained frozen, the rest of them attacked. Most of them were quickly taken out, having been no match for the greatest Green Lantern powered up by thousands of rings worth of energy. When Superman went down, Hal turned back to face Barry, his lips curled into a cruel smirk. But something wasn’t right. Hal’s eyes were glowing yellow.

 _Yellow_.

Barry had fought alongside Hal enough times to know that when Hal got truly furious, his eyes started glowing green, his will manifesting as unrestrained rage. Hal tried to control it of course, since it was unpleasant to some and terrifying to most, but when his anger got the better of him, everyone could always tell.

Of course, there were also Hal’s amber eyes. Deep and rich brown, that sparkled in the light—or at least, they _used to_ — full of _life_ and vitality and just the right amount of mischief. But it had been a _long_ time since Barry had seen Hal’s eyes the way they were meant to look.

And _yellow_?

The colour of _fear_?

Now that was just plain wrong on Hal.

His eyes widened even more underneath his cowl as, for a brief second, Hal’s face and body transformed into that of a creature. Teeth that were too sharp and too long to be human and talons where fingers should have been. Barry sucked in a breath as he trembled.

“Hal… what? Why’re you—”

Barry never got a chance to finish because he was blasted with green energy and was sent flying through a brick wall.

When he came to, Hal was long gone.

* * *

 Barry had resorted to vibrating to keep himself warm. The Sun was gone now and the world was a desolate plane of ice and snow. The League had come up with a plan to save the Earth, but it was a suicide mission. None of them were afraid of death—it came with the job— but everyone had things they didn’t want to leave behind.

But the life of one person versus the lives of seven billion? The choice was clear.

They were all ready to make the sacrifice. Hell, Ferro Lad had been ready. But Hal had other things in store.

When the hologram of Hal had come up, everyone but Barry had been apprehensive. Just listening to Hal speak was nostalgic. He didn’t sound so troubled anymore. No more angry desperation to fix something that couldn’t be fixed.

But when had Hal promised to help, Barry hadn’t known what ‘help’ would entail.

A pit sunk into his stomach. Not the one he had been expecting, the fear fueled dread, but the foreboding feeling that something was going to happen.

“Hal,” he whispered as he stared into the green sky. “Hal!”

“He’s…dead…” Saturn Girl said, her soft voice cutting through the silence like a knife.

“Oh my god… _Hal_ …” Barry moaned as he fell to his knees. It was all too reminiscent of their interaction at Coast City, all those years ago.

The start of this entire thing.

Tears fell down his cheeks. Diana placed her hand comfortingly on his shoulder but he barely acknowledged it. His best friend was _dead_ and he had been powerless to stop it.

Couldn’t save him from death and couldn’t save him from whatever had changed him.

From whatever that yellow glow in Hal’s eyes he had seen back then was.

He had failed.

* * *

 The only consolation Barry had when he returned from the dead was that the Earth hadn’t been destroyed as a result. He had succeeded in stopping the Anti-Monitor.

Ollie had returned from the dead. He was glad. He knew—from personal experience—that being dead wasn’t fun. It turned out that a lot more of the League had actually passed on and returned in his absence.

But not Hal.

At least, not completely.

He shouldn’t feel this way. He should be happy his friends came back at all. Not everyone could say they died and lived to tell the tale.

Hal was the Spectre now, the spirit of divine vengeance: not quite dead, but not quite alive either. But Barry knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. He made the most of what he had and spent time with Hal when he could.

Even if that meant random strangers walked up to him and started confessing their sins.

But something had been off recently and it looked like only Barry had noticed it. Hal had become conflicted, or at least, the Spectre had. Hal would sometimes look off into the distance, staring at something only he could see. Truth be told, it unnerved him a bit.

He had been up in the Watchtower when Ollie had come in, talking about how Hal had disintegrated Black Hand’s hand. Barry couldn’t believe it. Hal would never do anything like that. But his mind traitorously reminded him that Hal’s mind was not his own nowadays.

He decided to go with the League to confront Hal, but definitely not to fight him.

               

They found him at Ferris Air—of _course_ , they found him at Ferris Air— and Hal looked so confused as to why they were there after hearing that they didn’t need help with something. He tried to look as friendly as he could in the situation.

“Hal, what have you done today? Were you the one who fixed Coast City?”

“Coast City? What are you talking about, Barry? I fixed this airfield for Carol, that’s it.”

“Back to fixing things, Jordan?”

Before Barry could open his mouth to tell Batman off, John beat him to it.

“Batman… _shut up_.”

“John?” Aquaman asked in concern. But the Green Lantern didn’t pay him any attention. Instead, he flew up into the stormy sky.

“Guy was right. I’m just a good soldier. But it’s time to stand out again. It’s time to voice my opinion.”

With that, he sent a giant green battering ram towards them and Barry was almost too shocked to move.

“ ** _Loud and clear_**.”

* * *

 Barry had noticed immediately when Hal and the Spectre disappeared from the fray, having heard Hal’s anguished cries. But before he could even begin to _think_ of doing anything, John sent a flurry of green beams his way and he had to focus on dodging.

“ _Parallax is coming. Parallax is coming_.”

Barry whipped his head up in shock. Parallax was long gone and Hal had been brought back. The brunet had told him so himself. But something in him told him that John wasn’t lying.

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he prepared himself for the nightmare again.

* * *

 Barry had held out hope that John had been wrong.

But when he arrived in Coast City and stared Hal down, the brunet looking like he did all those years ago, standing in the remains of the city once destroyed, Barry felt his hope crumble to pieces.

“Hal?” he asked, desperation coating his best friend’s name. Hal turned and Barry felt the familiar knot of fear wind in his stomach.

“It is Parallax, human. Neither Hal Jordan nor the Spectre reside within this form. The Spectre has left to attend to his _god_ and Hal Jordan’s soul is dead.”

Barry grit his teeth together. “You _aren’t_ Hal, so stop wearing his face and stop using his voice.”

“I am Parallax and everything that Hal Jordan is, I am,” the creature wearing Hal’s body replied.

Barry turned when he noticed a gaze on him. He was surprised to find himself making eye contact with a Guardian. Thinking back, he recognized him as the one who had approached the League for help. Ganthet was his name.

“Flash, do you wish to save your friend?” Ganthet asked.

Barry didn’t need to hear anything else. “What do you need me to do?”

“Run towards it and trust me.”

“I can do that.”

 

Barry really hadn’t had any idea what Ganthet had in mind. He was only trusting his gut feeling that Ganthet wanted to save Hal as much as he did. So while the League was busy fighting off _Parallax_ , Barry prepared himself.

“You will need to vibrate your molecules the second you make contact with him. This is crucial.”

Wait.

Back up.

“You want me to _vibrate through Hal_?!” he cried out.

Ganthet shot him a glare. “I asked you to trust me, did I not, Barry Allen? I know what I am doing and if you wish to save your friend, you must listen to me.”

Barry gave Ganthet a skeptical look but steeled himself anyway. He needed to wait for Ganthet’s signal. He continued to watch the members of the League get tossed around like rag dolls until Alan bound Parallax with green chains.

“Now!” Ganthet said and Barry took off racing. Parallax managed to break free of the chains, but not before Barry tackled his midsection, vibrating his molecules like Ganthet had told him to. He heard a pained noise from Parallax before everything vanished in a flash of yellow.

* * *

“What have you done to him?!” Wonder Woman demanded as she pointed her sword at Ganthet. The Guardian, however, did not appear fazed in the slightest.

“I have only done what was necessary to save Hal Jordan, and by extension, the universe. I only hope that Barry Allen will be able to get through to him. Oa knows how much Parallax’s influence has tainted Lantern Jordan’s psyche.”

* * *

Barry woke up in a yellow field. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was…

Hal! He needed to save Hal!

But he had been nowhere near a yellow field? Where was he and how did he get here?

A wind blew harshly just as the sound of plane flying overhead roared. Barry glanced up to see a fighter jet streak by, its tail in flames. Based on its course, it was heading…

Straight for the ground.

Barry tried to move towards where the jet would crash, but the yellow plants held him still. He pulled at them, struggling out of their grip, but nothing he did, not even vibrating, did anything. He was helpless to watch the jet fall to earth and explode into flames. He heard a scream from in front of him and froze.

He _recognized_ that scream.

Fighting against the plants with renewed effort, Barry finally managed to free himself by vibrating his molecules so quickly that the plants had no chance. He struggled forward to where a man knelt, his limbs ensnared in the yellow plants.

Sure enough, it was Hal.

“Hal? Can you hear me?” Barry asked as he struggled to move in front of him. When he managed to, he caught sight of lifeless amber eyes, their owner seeming to have lost his esteemed willpower.

“ _Dad_ …” Hal choked out. The yellow plants fidgeted and seemed to cling on to Hal tighter. Barry snarled and finally made it close enough to Hal to be able to put both his hands on Hal’s shoulders.

“Hal, this isn’t real. This already happened and you’ve moved on. Come on, say something.”

“…Barry?” Hal whispered. The speedster nodded, only to have the pilot tense and flinch back.

“Hal?”

“You’re dead. I watched you die. I watched you _all_ die.”

“What are you talking about, Hal? Who did you watch die?” Barry asked. Hal had been one of the earlier fatalities, only a few having met their time before him.

“You, Clark, Diana, Bruce, Carol, Tom, Jim, Howard, Jane…” Hal babbled, his hands moving to clutch at his head, as if that would rid him of the false memories haunting him. “I have to watch it again and _again_ and you’re all in that plane crash and you’re all _screaming_ and _burning_ and I’m alone and—god I’m alone and I’m scared and I can’t—can’t save _any of you_ and I’m _sorry_ , god I—”

Hal didn’t get any further than that since Barry crushed him in a hug. He tensed in the hold before allowing himself to relax.

“Hey, Barry… you’re really warm for a ghost,” he said weakly.

“I’m not a ghost, Hal. I’m real. We’re inside of Parallax, I think.”

“Inside of Parallax?”

“Yeah. Listen, I need you to want to get out of here. _Will_ yourself out,” Barry urged as he pulled back and stared Hal in the eyes. In the background the fire still burned, sounds of tortured screams echoing too loudly for an empty field. Hal’s eyes went wide and he shook his head.

“Barry I can’t. I… I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of, Hal?”

“That I’m alone. That you all hate me. That I don’t have anything left for me.”

“The Hal Jordan I know doesn’t sit around and wait for the world to accommodate him. The Hal Jordan _I_ know, gets out there and fights the good fight and doesn’t give a damn if the world’s against him. As long as he knows what he’s doing is right, he sticks to it. He’s got the _will_ to stick to it. He’s one of the greatest men I’ve ever known and he always will be, regardless of what other people think or say.”

“Barry…” Hal managed, his voice beginning to sound like his own again.

“You know how, Hal. You just need to will it.”

Hal closed his eyes. The plants holding him began to shrivel and die and the fire raging behind them put itself out. The screams died out. Barry smiled.

“I… _I have the will_!”

* * *

 Ganthet was about a minute away from calling for the three lanterns to help rescue Hal when Parallax’s body shuddered. The entire League watched as Parallax’s body was ripped into half, the Flash and the spirit of Hal Jordan emerging from its yellow remains.

“That’s… really gross,” Ollie pointed out.

Dinah smacked him on the head.

Ganthet saw his chance and immediately swooped in the cage Parallax back inside a green power battery when the creature hissed and jumped for the Guardian, entering him. Ganthet wheezed and coughed out yellow blood. Guy and John were instantly by his side, as was most of the League, but only Barry seemed to notice Hal staring off into the sky.

“Hal? What is it?”

“I… something’s calling me…” The spirit began to fade away and Barry clutched desperately onto his friend’s ghostly arm.

“Hal, we need you here! You need to stay and help us!”

“Barry… I…” Hal started. He didn’t get a chance to finish as he disappeared from view completely.

“HAL!”

“Hal Jordan…” Ganthet rasped out. “Follow my light…” he said as he sent up a green orb of light. Invisible, Hal followed the light as it disappeared into the night sky.

* * *

 When Hal dropped in next to him, wearing his Green Lantern uniform like he had never taken it off, Barry nearly wept for joy. But the sight of Hal, whole, warm, and _alive_ was what really sent him to a few tears. He watched as Hal, Guy, John, and Kyle took out Parallax and couldn’t stop the familiar sense of _pride_ at watching Hal work.

_That’s my best friend up there._

It had been so long, but he had never forgotten how it felt to watch Hal use that ring like he was born to. There was only one way to describe it.

Awe-inspiring.

… And maybe reckless, but that was another matter entirely.

The second Hal touched down, Barry rushed to his side.

“Hal? Are you back?”

The brunet gave him a smile that made his heart ache as he struggled to remember when Hal had last smiled. Surely, years ago.

“Yeah, Barry. I’m back. And I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you did back there.”

“You remember?”

“Of course I do.”

“Uh guys?” Kyle interrupted as he glanced behind Barry. The speedster turned to find the entire Justice League observing them carefully with Batman in the lead, caution plastered across their faces.

“Do you expect me to believe this?” Batman asked. “That you were influenced? Possessed? Is _that_ what Parallax was? An outside force that—”

“I don’t expect you to believe anything,” Hal interrupted. “And quite honestly, I don’t care.”

“Come on, Bruce. You trust me, right? Hal is back. I’ll vouch for him,” Barry cut in.

There was a tense silence before Batman finally turned away. “I suppose this universe needs a little more light anyway.”

Hal grinned and Barry grinned back. The speedster raised his fist for a fist bump and Hal happily complied.

“Man, it feels like forever since I did that!” he shouted with a laugh.

Barry laughed right alongside him. “I know. Welcome back, Hal.”

“Good to be back, Bear.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope it was alright. Let me know how it was? Have a nice day guys :)


End file.
